ATM card swap frauds surge across Ahmedabad, multiple victims lose over ₹3 lakh

A series of ATM card swap frauds reported across different parts of Ahmedabad has exposed a recurring pattern in which unsuspecting bank customers were allegedly duped by unidentified men posing as helpful bystanders inside ATM kiosks.

Police said at least seven separate complaints involving more than ₹3.37 lakh in alleged fraudulent withdrawals have been registered over the past few weeks at Sarkhej, Anandnagar and Vejalpur Police Stations. Investigators suspect that organised gangs may be targeting ATM users by observing PIN numbers and secretly replacing original debit cards with other cards during interactions inside kiosks.

In the latest case, a 26-year-old staff nurse from Vejalpur alleged that two unidentified men cheated her family of ₹1.01 lakh after swapping her father’s SBI debit card at an ATM kiosk near the SBI branch in the Makarba area on May 16.

Himani Parmar, employed at Sola Civil Hospital, had visited the ATM to withdraw cash using her father Chandrakantbhai Parmar’s card. After she successfully withdrew ₹10,000, a heavily built man wearing a pistachio-coloured T-shirt allegedly told her that the transaction process was incomplete and persuaded her to reinsert the card. During the interaction, the accused allegedly observed her PIN and swapped the card with another SBI card bearing the name 'Nayana S Shah'.

Sarkhej police said the family later began receiving SMS alerts about multiple withdrawals. After approaching the bank, they allegedly discovered that ₹1.01 lakh had been withdrawn through unauthorised transactions.

In another similar incident registered at Anandnagar Police Station, a 54-year-old security guard, Hemchandbhai Parmar, alleged that two men cheated him of ₹39,500 at an SBI ATM near Prernatirth Derasar in Satellite on March 11. The complainant alleged that after the ATM machine failed to dispense cash, one accused advised him to withdraw a smaller amount while another allegedly observed his PIN and swapped the ATM card.

Police said Parmar later discovered that his original debit card had been replaced with another card after receiving SMS alerts regarding unauthorised withdrawals.

A separate complaint from the same area was lodged by 47-year-old homemaker Ritaben Tiwari, who alleged that two men swapped her ATM card at an SBI cash deposit machine near Prernatirth Derasar on May 13 and later withdrew ₹40,000 from her account.

According to police, the complainant had visited the kiosk to deposit ₹50,000 when some currency notes were rejected by the machine. Two men allegedly offered assistance and exchanged the rejected notes. During the interaction, they allegedly observed her PIN and replaced her debit card with another SBI card bearing the name 'Vishal Chavda'. Investigators said four separate withdrawals of ₹10,000 each were later made from an SBI ATM in Hastinapur.

Vejalpur police have also registered multiple ATM card swap complaints linked to kiosks in the Juhapura area.

In one case, 57-year-old Shahnawaz Yakubbhai Aziz alleged that an unidentified man swapped his debit card at an HDFC Bank ATM beneath Royal Akbar Tower on Sarkhej Road on March 20 and later withdrew ₹40,000 from his account in two transactions.

The complainant alleged that after he withdrew ₹10,000, the accused falsely claimed that the transaction slip had not been generated and asked him to reinsert the card. He later realised that the debit card in his possession bore the name 'Geetaben Makwana'.

In another FIR, 21-year-old MCA student Irshad Ali Mansuri alleged that an unidentified man swapped his sister’s debit card at a Bank of Baroda ATM beneath Classic Heights in Juhapura on May 2. According to the complaint, the ATM machine was malfunctioning and the accused offered assistance before allegedly replacing the original card with another card bearing the name 'Rajkumar Singh'.

Police said the complainant later received five SMS alerts indicating withdrawals of ₹10,000 each, amounting to ₹50,000.

A similar complaint was lodged by 29-year-old Mahavir Jagdishbhai Parmar, who alleged that an unidentified man swapped his debit card at the HDFC Bank ATM beneath Royal Akbar Tower on May 16 and later fraudulently spent ₹35,000 at a jewellery shop besides withdrawing another ₹1,000 from an ATM near Maninagar crossroads.

In yet another case, Kashmira Qureshi, a resident of Juhapura, alleged that an unidentified man swapped her mother-in-law’s debit card at a Bank of Baroda ATM near Classic Heights on April 20 while she was attempting to deposit ₹30,000. The family later discovered that ₹31,000 had been withdrawn from the account through unauthorised transactions.

Police officials said the modus operandi in all the cases appeared similar, with accused persons allegedly targeting customers facing difficulties at ATM kiosks, observing PIN entries and replacing original debit cards with other cards.

Separate cases of cheating and fraud under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita have been registered, and investigations are underway. Police officials said CCTV footage from ATM kiosks and surrounding areas is being examined to identify the accused persons.